Blog | Page 25

There’s been growing concern about the state of the nation’s transportation infrastructure, as evidenced by a proliferation of private sector initiatives to influence policy. This includes the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s “Let’s Rebuild America” campaign; the Rockefeller Foundation-supported Building America’s Future coalition founded by Gov. Edward Rendell (D-PA), Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R-CA) and New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg; the Bipartisan Policy Center’s National Transportation Policy Project led by Emil Frankel; the “Critical Commerce Corridors” proposal to establish a distinct and separately funded national freight transportation program; and the America Moving Forward coalition, whose goal is to champion the principle of public-private transportation partnerships and oppose legislative and regulatory moves to restrict their utilization. Running through these initiatives is a common Read More ›

Similar to some other automakers, the vehicles currently on offer from Dodge-Chrysler-Jeep include quite a few, such as SUVs, minivans and pickup trucks, that aren’t really tooled for the motoring future that’s already unfolding. That’s a future with high gas prices that will be staying high, sharply slowing sales of gas-guzzling pick-ups and SUVs, and consumers ready to buy plug-in hybrid electric vehicles by the boatloads if automakers can deliver them with reliable lithium ion batteries and at prices of, say, $30,000 or less. That price point is apparently the aim for GM’s Chevy Volt, a PHEV to watch. So with gas now pushing past $4 a gallon, what does Dodge-Chrysler-Jeep do? Accent their plans for future-facing vehicles? No. They Read More ›

Susan Gilmore’s article in today’s Seattle Times on the Island Home ferry planned for the Port Townsend-Keystone route was spot on in describing how nice the ferry is for riders. Over the Memorial Day weekend, my family had a chance to ride on the new Island Home ferry (as well as the older ferry that also serves the route) in Massachusetts, from Woods Hole to Martha’s Vineyard. We came away impressed. As the Times’ piece indicates, there is a special deck-top area for free wireless Internet connection. Other amenities include comfortable seats (with cupholders!), quiet areas on the first passenger deck, and a well-stocked snack area that handled the packed crowds quickly with dual stations. Unlike Washington State Ferries policy, Read More ›

Okay – so you already knew that pink was the new black and real estate was the new sex. Now infrastructure is sexy. So say Forbes, The Guardian, and the Wall Street Journal. We’re not talking about your grandfather’s municipal bonds either. Operating costs and necessary maintenance and improvements are something every homeowner understands – all too well. You may be able to meet all these needs without assuming debt beyond your mortgage. Or you might just have to endure an avocado-hued fridge, pastel yellow formica counter, midget sink, pinched shower stall and shaky deck for far longer than you’d like. Cue the violins. Life is hard. But suppose you owned a worn-down state ferry fleet or highway system and Read More ›

The May/June 2008 issue of Mother Jones is all about “The Future Of Energy,” and one must-read article is “The Seven Myths Of Energy Independence,” by Paul Roberts, author of “The End Of Oil.” Roberts argues that energy security is a far more achievable and strategic goal for the United States than energy independence, and the goal should be “massive increases in energy efficiency,” particularly in the transportation sector. With that in mind, he details some of the reasons why plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) hold such great promise. ….saving energy is almost always cheaper than making it: There is far more oil to be “found” in Detroit by designing more fuel-efficient cars than could ever be pumped out of Read More ›

Last week’s fast foot ferry demo and regional foot ferry discussion forum in Seattle, organized by Cascadia Center, stoked the fires again. KOMO 4 TV, The Kitsap Sun and The Peninsula Daily News all weighed in with coverage. Participants came away energized by the ride on All American Marine’s 50 mph River Gorge Explorer (right); determined to find a way to fund a regional network of state-of-the-art passenger-only ferries; and understanding that Puget Sound’s health must be maintained at the same time. The common thread is the huge population growth headed our way in coming decades. Before we delve into last week’s events, let’s set the stage. Off, Then On Again The speedy passenger-only state ferry running between Bremerton and Read More ›

Drawing from $19.9 billion in Prop. 1B voter-appproved bonding authority, a California commission has allocated $3 billion to help fund 79 road, rail, bridge, transit and other transportation projects. The bottom line of this summary shows the projects will cost $8 billion to complete, necessitating the usual cost-sharing with other jurisdictions. Included are more High Occupancy and Toll (HOT) lanes on 1-15 in San Diego, arterial lane additions in Yuba City, various rehab projects for crumbling roads statewide, replacement of an unsafe bridge at Fort Bragg, crossovers between mainline freight train tracks, enhanced grade separation for Los Angeles-region commuter rail, rehab and addition of inter-city train tracks at L.A’s downtown station, second-phase seismic upgrade work on the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Read More ›

Suppose electricity was free, even at hours of peak usage. Think your power supply would be reliable, then? Exactly. Now apply the same common-sense approach to highway capacity. Or consider the Environmental Defense Fund’s Transportation Director Michael Replogle, who writes in the Washington Post: Congestion pricing may be controversial to some people, but it’s inevitable. Using tolls simply to build more roads is a costly way to end up with even more traffic and pollution….Done right, congestion pricing can boost the efficiency of our existing roads, raise revenue to invest in transit, and reduce pollution that causes asthma, cancer, heart disease, impaired lung development and global warming….In the long run, congestion pricing is the only effective and economically and politically Read More ›

The gulf between plans for regional urban density and the reality of dreaded “sprawl” is widening in Central Puget Sound, writes former Washington State Secretary of Transportation Doug MacDonald in Crosscut today. The Puget Sound Regional Council is poised tomorrow to approve Vision 2040, its updated growth plan. It predicts another 1.7 million people (the size of metro Portland, Oregon) will move to our four counties between 2000 and 2040. To protect the environment and limit traffic congestion, the elected officials and staff of PSRC propose ways to funnel most new residents to the close-in “metropolitan cities” of Seattle, Bellevue, Everett, Tacoma and Bremerton, plus 14 adjacent “core cities” such as Auburn, Redmond, Federal Way, Lakewood, Tukwila and unincorporated Silverdale. Read More ›

In a recent speech to the Oregon Environmental Council’s Business Forum, Oregon Governor Ted Kulongoski (below, right) said the transportation plan he’ll present to the 2009 state legislature will likely accent congestion pricing. It could also include a statewide low-carbon fuel standard in synch with California’s, and incentives for plug-in hybrid electric vehicles. More, first from from The Oregonian. Gov. Ted Kulongoski…said he will likely advocate for rush-hour tolling and other tough measures to control traffic congestion in his 2009 appeal to the Legislature. “In plain English, tolls that vary by time of day, by location, or by congestion level, so that those who are using the highway at the most desirable time are paying more to do so,” he Read More ›